Keith Barrington (@neonatalresearch)

Managing Post-Haemorrhagic Hydrocephalus PHH, as I will call it, is an extremely important determinant of outcomes in a small subgroup of preterm infants. Infants with severe IVH who don't develop PHH have outcomes that are little affected. As our group reviewed, even grade 4 IVH, if unilateral, and affecting 1 or 2 of the Bassan zones, has little impact on motor or cognitive outcomes unless complicated by PHH. Andrew Whitelaw died recently (a touching eulogy is on the site of the Newborn Brain Society), I knew him personally, having worked as his resident during a summer in Jersey (Channel Isles, UK), when he covered for my consultant during their vacation.

Managing Post-Haemorrhagic Hydrocephalus

PHH, as I will call it, is an extremely important determinant of outcomes in a small subgroup of preterm infants. Infants with severe IVH who don't develop PHH have outcomes that are little affected. As our group reviewed, even grade 4 IVH, if unilateral,…

02.03.2026 16:52 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Give your opinion: what should we call the most immature babies? There is an upcoming workshop, sponsored by the AAP, and other groups, that is investigating what shared language should be used for the babies of less than 25 weeks gestation. At present there are not as many responses as they would like from families, or from former preterm infants. I would encourage any readers of the blog, and especially those from the 2 groups I just mentioned, a few of whom, I know, follow this blog, to participate.

Give your opinion: what should we call the most immature babies?

There is an upcoming workshop, sponsored by the AAP, and other groups, that is investigating what shared language should be used for the babies of less than 25 weeks gestation. At present there are not as many responses as they would…

27.02.2026 13:49 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Automated oxygen control; is it worth it? The history of automated controls of inspired oxygen goes back many decades, to before the invention of pulse oximetry. The first studies I remember used transcutaneous PO2 as the target variable, which had major limitations, as well as the advantage of being better at detecting hyperoxia, at least when it was working well. There are numerous recent publications about automated FiO2 control, at the end of this post I have put a list of a selection of publications from the last 8 years or so.

Automated oxygen control; is it worth it?

The history of automated controls of inspired oxygen goes back many decades, to before the invention of pulse oximetry. The first studies I remember used transcutaneous PO2 as the target variable, which had major limitations, as well as the advantage of…

18.02.2026 19:38 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 1

Prophylactic acetaminophen in the preterm In a newly published trial (Roze JC, et al. Prophylactic Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus With Acetaminophen: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2026) nearly 800 infants of 23 to <29 weeks GA were randomized within 12 hours of birth. There were few exclusions, basically only congenital anomalies and Twtin-Twin transfusion syndrome. The doses were different among the 27-28 weeks infants compared to those more immature, and continued for 5 days in both groups. The primary outcome variable was survival without "severe morbidity" which was any one of : severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, stage II or III NEC, grade III or IV IVH, or cystic leukomalacia.

Prophylactic acetaminophen in the preterm

In a newly published trial (Roze JC, et al. Prophylactic Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus With Acetaminophen: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2026) nearly 800 infants of 23 to

17.02.2026 21:19 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Not just neonatology, trip to Rwanda I was very fortunate to be able to take a trip to Rwanda to participate in their neonatal training scheme, in what was termed a "respiratory bootcamp". Rwanda is a small country of 23000 km2, with a young population of over 14 million, and 400,000 births annually. Which I can't help comparing to Quebec, with an area of 1.5 million km2, a population of 9 million and annual births of 80,000. There has been remarkable progress in perinatal health care and outcomes over the last decade, with a marked improvement in the proportion of deliveries attended by a trained birth assistant, and taking place in an institution (now >95%), with a dramatic reduction in maternal mortality from over 1000 to about 300/100,000 births.

Not just neonatology, trip to Rwanda

I was very fortunate to be able to take a trip to Rwanda to participate in their neonatal training scheme, in what was termed a "respiratory bootcamp". Rwanda is a small country of 23000 km2, with a young population of over 14 million, and 400,000 births…

17.02.2026 17:38 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

How much oxygen for the resuscitation of the preterm? I like a good acronym, so my initial response to the new TORPIDO trial was very positive! TORPIDO 30/60 was a large multicentre RCT comparing initial FiO2 concentrations for resuscitation of the preterm infant (Oei JL, et al. Targeted Oxygen for Initial Resuscitation of Preterm Infants: The TORPIDO 30/60 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. United States2025). The first TORPIDO study (Targeted Oxygen in the Resuscitation of Preterm Infants and their Developmental Outcomes) was a comparison in 290 infants <32 weeks GA, of 21% starting O2 concentration vs 100% starting concentration (

How much oxygen for the resuscitation of the preterm?

I like a good acronym, so my initial response to the new TORPIDO trial was very positive! TORPIDO 30/60 was a large multicentre RCT comparing initial FiO2 concentrations for resuscitation of the preterm infant (Oei JL, et al. Targeted Oxygen…

29.12.2025 22:13 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Universal Neonatal Genome sequencing? It is over 2 years since I posted about this issue, in the meantime there have been a number of new initiatives, and several review articles and opinion pieces. Including a JAMA, "research of the year" article". I was triggered to return to this issue by a recent example of such an editorial which claimed that universal neonatal genome sequencing (UNGS) "pilot programmes like the Generation Study by Genomics England, which showed that whole-genome sequencing could identify rare, treatable conditions in about one in every 200 babies." (Of note there is no author given for this editorial, perhaps it was generated by AI, interestingly…

Universal Neonatal Genome sequencing?

It is over 2 years since I posted about this issue, in the meantime there have been a number of new initiatives, and several review articles and opinion pieces. Including a JAMA, "research of the year" article". I was triggered to return to this issue by a…

13.12.2025 20:04 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Why doesn’t closing the PDA help preterm infants? I have been continuing to think about this issue, so will subject you all to some of my thoughts. The large RCTs of medication for closure of the PDA show no benefit, and some evidence of harms, but we all know that the PDA usually closes shortly after birth in the term infant, and there is a statistical association between a persistently patent ductus in the very preterm infant and several neonatal complications. So why don't babies benefit from closure of the PDA? I think there are 2 possibilities. One is that the medications are the problem.

Why doesn’t closing the PDA help preterm infants?

I have been continuing to think about this issue, so will subject you all to some of my thoughts. The large RCTs of medication for closure of the PDA show no benefit, and some evidence of harms, but we all know that the PDA usually closes shortly…

12.12.2025 20:17 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Should we ever close the PDA? The latest large multicentre RCT has just been published. Laughon MM, et al. Expectant Management vs Medication for Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Preterm Infants. JAMA. 2025. In this trial, infants of 22 to 28 weeks GA were randomized at between 48 hours and 21 days of life after an echocardiogram. They were classified into: 1. no or asymptomatic PDA; 2.symptomatic PDA; or 3. cardiopulmonary compromise. Only group 2 were randomized. The definitions are shown below, including, at the bottom of the figure, the definition of group 2. Of note, infants receiving hydrocortisone were ineligible.

Should we ever close the PDA?

The latest large multicentre RCT has just been published. Laughon MM, et al. Expectant Management vs Medication for Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Preterm Infants. JAMA. 2025. In this trial, infants of 22 to 28 weeks GA were randomized at between 48 hours and 21 days of…

10.12.2025 20:30 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Is this article trustworthy? There are many ways that an article in the medical literature may not be worthy of trust, and whose results may be unreliable. I remember one of my own trials, LACUNA, which was a pilot RCT of lactoferrin supplementation to prevent late-onset sepsis (LOS). As a pilot. the primary outcome was feasibility of a larger trial, but the clinical outcomes that I reported included the incidence of culture-positive sepsis.

Is this article trustworthy?

There are many ways that an article in the medical literature may not be worthy of trust, and whose results may be unreliable. I remember one of my own trials, LACUNA, which was a pilot RCT of lactoferrin supplementation to prevent late-onset sepsis (LOS). As a pilot.…

21.11.2025 17:10 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Hope for HIE I was struck this morning by a new article in Pediatric Research a "Family Perspectives" written by the founder of the organisation that has the same name as the title of this post, "Hope for HIE", Betsy Pilon (Pilon B. Family reflections: what’s next for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)—a patient advocacy perspective. Pediatr Res. 2025). It is an eloquent cri-de-coeur, demanding a greater voice for parents of infants with HIE: …

Hope for HIE

I was struck this morning by a new article in Pediatric Research a "Family Perspectives" written by the founder of the organisation that has the same name as the title of this post, "Hope for HIE", Betsy Pilon (Pilon B. Family reflections: what’s next for hypoxic-ischemic…

20.11.2025 18:32 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Longer term outcomes after cooling One of the numerous major advances in neonatology during my career has been the introduction of therapeutic hypothermia for infants with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). Mortality is decreased, by about 25%, and long term morbidity among survivors is also decreased, by about 33%. Those estimates of effect size come from the Cochrane review, which provides the following Forest plot (I'm sorry about the quality of the image, the version in the pdf of the review is much clearer, but it extends over 2 pages, with a page break in the middle).

Longer term outcomes after cooling

One of the numerous major advances in neonatology during my career has been the introduction of therapeutic hypothermia for infants with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). Mortality is decreased, by about 25%, and long term morbidity among survivors is also…

13.11.2025 20:00 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Face masks for resuscitation? Blank DA, et al. Face mask versus nasal mask device use for initial resuscitation in extremely and very preterm infants (FONDUE): an open-label, single-centre, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2025;9(10):715–23. An excellent acronym for this trial. Hopefully it will lead to a trend in acronyms based on European culinary specialities. Very preterm infants, n=151, of 23 to 32 weeks GA were randomized to receive delivery room CPAP with a face mask, or with a nasal mask in a single centre study from Monash in Melbourne. Delayed clamping was attempted, without respiratory support, or immediate clamping if the baby needed intervention.

Face masks for resuscitation?

Blank DA, et al. Face mask versus nasal mask device use for initial resuscitation in extremely and very preterm infants (FONDUE): an open-label, single-centre, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2025;9(10):715–23. An excellent acronym for this…

12.11.2025 16:03 👍 4 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

Beware articles written by AI I subscribe to Google alerts, which sends me an email whenever the phrase "neonatal research" appears on a new website or a new post. I was interested, therefore to receive an alert about an article which, according the blog "Bioengineer.org", showed a major genetic contribution to the occurrence of Necrotising Enterocolitis. The blog post includes the following quote "Bai et al.’s study represents a landmark in neonatal research by providing compelling evidence for the heritability of necrotizing enterocolitis in very preterm infants. The twin study design elegantly disentangles genetic predisposition from environmental influences and firmly establishes a genetic foundation for this complex disease".

Beware articles written by AI

I subscribe to Google alerts, which sends me an email whenever the phrase "neonatal research" appears on a new website or a new post. I was interested, therefore to receive an alert about an article which, according the blog "Bioengineer.org", showed a major genetic…

11.11.2025 15:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Neonatal Research Shorts : November 2025 Ybarra M, et al. Low-Grade Germinal Matrix Hemorrhage-Intraventricular Hemorrhage and Concomitant Preterm Brain Injuries: Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 3 Years of Age. J Pediatr. 2025:114713. Previous studies of the long term outcome of infants with germinal matrix or low grade IVH have been inconsistent. Some have shown an association with poorer developmental progress, and others have shown no impact. Some of this variability may be due to uncertainty about diagnostic criteria, with slightly larger amounts of intraventricular blood being classified differently. Some is probably due to the variable association with other brain injury, not readily seen on ultrasound, such as white matter injury, or cerebellar haemorrhages.

Neonatal Research Shorts : November 2025

Ybarra M, et al. Low-Grade Germinal Matrix Hemorrhage-Intraventricular Hemorrhage and Concomitant Preterm Brain Injuries: Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 3 Years of Age. J Pediatr. 2025:114713. Previous studies of the long term outcome of infants with…

10.11.2025 16:17 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Clinical examination and treatment of septic shock. Not neonatology. Andromeda-Shock-2 Investigators for the Andromeda Research Network SSoAR, et al. Personalized Hemodynamic Resuscitation Targeting Capillary Refill Time in Early Septic Shock: The ANDROMEDA-SHOCK-2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2025. This is a very interesting trial evaluating the usefulness of clinical assessment of the circulation in adults with septic shock in a large international multicentre trial. Patients with suspected sepsis, who required norepinephrine after 1 litre fluid bolus, and had an elevated serum lactate, were randomized. A standardized method of measuring capillary refill time was agreed upon, CRT was assessed by applying firm pressure to the ventral surface of the distal phalanx of a finger, using a glass microscope slide.

Clinical examination and treatment of septic shock. Not neonatology.

Andromeda-Shock-2 Investigators for the Andromeda Research Network SSoAR, et al. Personalized Hemodynamic Resuscitation Targeting Capillary Refill Time in Early Septic Shock: The ANDROMEDA-SHOCK-2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA.…

07.11.2025 21:58 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

Yes! The higher the risk, the greater the reduction with steroids, exactly to be expected with regression to the mean. Gill Lancet 1985 showed the higher the initial BP, the greater the reduction with treatment, whatever you give! It's just a numerical phenomenon, with no greater meaning than that.

07.11.2025 18:44 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Lactoferrin supplementation does not prevent late-onset sepsis in the preterm… or is it more complicated that that? Many of my readers will remember the impressive results of the high-quality study by Paolo Manzoni, Manzoni P, et al. Bovine lactoferrin supplementation for prevention of late-onset sepsis in very low-birth-weight neonates: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2009;302(13):1421–8) which showed that routine supplementation of preterm infants with bovine lactoferrin (bLF) dramatically reduced late-onset sepsis. Many of us were quite excited with this finding, and launched our own studies, I performed a pilot in my NICU, hoping to use the data to get funding for a confirmatory trial (Barrington KJ, et al.

Lactoferrin supplementation does not prevent late-onset sepsis in the preterm… or is it more complicated that that?

Many of my readers will remember the impressive results of the high-quality study by Paolo Manzoni, Manzoni P, et al. Bovine lactoferrin supplementation for prevention of late-onset…

06.11.2025 17:52 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Return to the Regression to the Mean After my post on regression to the mean, and its importance in studies of apnoea therapy, I was thinking of other examples. Some which have been most evident to me are those which impact on areas of medicine that I have researched myself. One example, from many years ago now, looked at the haemodynamic effects of dopamine in sick preterm infants. Seri I, et al. Regional hemodynamic effects of dopamine in the sick preterm neonate. J Pediatr. 1998;133(6):728–34. This study was performed during the 1st 2 days of life, a period when blood pressure normally gradually increases, and when renal vascular resistance falls dramatically.

Return to the Regression to the Mean

After my post on regression to the mean, and its importance in studies of apnoea therapy, I was thinking of other examples. Some which have been most evident to me are those which impact on areas of medicine that I have researched myself. One example, from many…

05.11.2025 20:51 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0

Beware of meta-analysis factories I mentioned in my previous post, an issue with meta-analyses; there have been several I have read recently which are very problematic. They seem to be produced by groups that have little concern for the quality of their product. This recent meta-analysis, for example, of transfusion thresholds in the preterm, stated that they found 12 RCTs (Fu et al Ann Hematol 2023).

Beware of meta-analysis factories

I mentioned in my previous post, an issue with meta-analyses; there have been several I have read recently which are very problematic. They seem to be produced by groups that have little concern for the quality of their product. This recent meta-analysis, for…

04.11.2025 16:43 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Do blood transfusions treat apnoea of prematurity? There has for a long time been a thought that anemic babies with many apnoeas could benefit from a blood transfusion which would decrease their apnoeic spells. This idea has never been directly tested by an RCT. That is, a trial in which infants with apnoea were randomized to receive a transfusion or control, and the response accurately determined. I actually started such a trial when I was in San Diego, but only enrolled a tiny number of babies before leaving to return to Canada; the fellow who was involved finished at about the same time as me, and the project was sadly terminated.

Do blood transfusions treat apnoea of prematurity?

There has for a long time been a thought that anemic babies with many apnoeas could benefit from a blood transfusion which would decrease their apnoeic spells. This idea has never been directly tested by an RCT. That is, a trial in which infants…

03.11.2025 21:19 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

I've read several SR recently, where the included articles are wrongly referenced, and it's impossible to find the original, if it ever existed. Some of these are being written by AI, and, I think, some of the original trials are also written by AI, without the trial ever having really existed.

01.11.2025 18:16 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I think that editors and reviewers should require that authors supply copies of articles they include in an SR. Automated translation works reasonably well for the languages I know, hopefully it's OK for Chinese also.

01.11.2025 18:13 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Non-invasive high-frequency oscillation; worth the hassle? Non-invasive HFOV can be delivered by a variety of different equipment and interfaces. The high flows and upper airway turbulence probably have an impact on gas exchange; It appears that the effective dead space of the oro-nasopharynx is washed out (De Luca D, Dell'Orto V. Non-invasive high-frequency oscillatory ventilation in neonates: review of physiology, biology and clinical data. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2016;101(6):F565–F70), but how much transmission of the oscillatory pressures to the lung occurs is uncertain. Transmission does occur under some circumstances, however, as several groups have shown.

Non-invasive high-frequency oscillation; worth the hassle?

Non-invasive HFOV can be delivered by a variety of different equipment and interfaces. The high flows and upper airway turbulence probably have an impact on gas exchange; It appears that the effective dead space of the oro-nasopharynx is…

29.10.2025 21:40 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

Avoiding IVs in moderately preterm babies A new very large (for neonatology) RCT has just been published. Ojha S, et al. Full exclusively enteral fluids from day 1 versus gradual feeding in preterm infants (FEED1): a open-label, parallel-group, multicentre, randomised, superiority trial. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2025. Mothers were approached prior to preterm delivery, and babies were enrolled if they delivered between 30 and >33 weeks gestation, and were deemed clinically stable, prior to 3 hours of age. Prior to delivery the mothers either gave full written signed consent, or they verbally agreed to the study, in which case they had a full written consent later.

Avoiding IVs in moderately preterm babies

A new very large (for neonatology) RCT has just been published. Ojha S, et al. Full exclusively enteral fluids from day 1 versus gradual feeding in preterm infants (FEED1): a open-label, parallel-group, multicentre, randomised, superiority trial. Lancet…

28.10.2025 15:40 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0

Bob Bartlett RIP I just learned of the very recent death of Dr Robert Hawkes Bartlett, May 8, 1939 – October 20, 2025. He was a surgeon who had been developing extracorporeal oxygenation systems for cardiothoracic surgery who realised that extracorporeal circulation could be used for prolonged support, and was willing to try it out for a baby who was dying. He told the story in his Presidential address to the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs in 1985…

Bob Bartlett RIP

I just learned of the very recent death of Dr Robert Hawkes Bartlett, May 8, 1939 – October 20, 2025. He was a surgeon who had been developing extracorporeal oxygenation systems for cardiothoracic surgery who realised that extracorporeal circulation could be used for prolonged…

23.10.2025 16:40 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Neonatal Research Shorts : October 2025 Afifi J, et al. Atropine Versus Placebo for Neonatal Nonemergent Intubation: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Pediatr. 2025;286:114719 I had thought this was a settled issue, Neil Finer showed many years ago that atropine alone decreased bradycardias during intubation. But as the authors of this new study point out, there is very little (or no) data about atropine as part of an intubation cocktail in the newborn. I have a bit of a beef with the introduction which suggests that the Kelly and Finer trial mentioned above was limited, as it did not "follow recommended premedication protocols".

Neonatal Research Shorts : October 2025

Afifi J, et al. Atropine Versus Placebo for Neonatal Nonemergent Intubation: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Pediatr. 2025;286:114719 I had thought this was a settled issue, Neil Finer showed many years ago that atropine alone decreased bradycardias during…

02.10.2025 19:32 👍 5 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1

Predicting neurological and developmental outcomes. Why? How? There are a huge number of publications correlating medium term outcomes (by which I mean outcomes around 1 to 2 years of age) with findings in the neonatal period. Most have concerned various approaches to brain imaging, although other studies have evaluated EEG, NIRS, early structured physical examinations, counting how many complications the baby had, the type of feeding they received.... I am sure my readers could construct a longer list. There are several recent publications that have triggered this post, in the extremely preterm infant. In the preterm infant, brain injury on imaging is very common, yet most preterm babies actually function very well.

Predicting neurological and developmental outcomes. Why? How?

There are a huge number of publications correlating medium term outcomes (by which I mean outcomes around 1 to 2 years of age) with findings in the neonatal period. Most have concerned various approaches to brain imaging, although other…

29.09.2025 16:05 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 0

Caffeine is good for the preterm brain; might more caffeine be even better? One of the pivotal RCTs in neonatology was the CAP study (Schmidt B, et al. Long-term effects of caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(19):1893–902). We performed that study because there was no data on the long term impacts of caffeine, and there was a worry that blocking adenosine receptors in babies having multiple hypoxic episodes might be a bad idea. Adenosine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that is produced during hypoxia, and decreases the brain metabolic rate to protect against hypoxic damage. So giving caffeine to babies having a lot of apnoeas could potentially have been a bad idea.

Caffeine is good for the preterm brain; might more caffeine be even better?

One of the pivotal RCTs in neonatology was the CAP study (Schmidt B, et al. Long-term effects of caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(19):1893–902). We performed that study because there was no…

24.09.2025 19:21 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Unethical research practice, fraud and abuse of trust. One of the worst kinds of unethical research practice is to fail to publish results after a prospective study. Parents consent to research for altruistic motives, in the belief that their baby's participation will help the care of other, future, babies. Failing to carry through and publish, or at the very least, make results publicly available on the registration website, is an abuse of that consent.

Unethical research practice, fraud and abuse of trust.

One of the worst kinds of unethical research practice is to fail to publish results after a prospective study. Parents consent to research for altruistic motives, in the belief that their baby's participation will help the care of other,…

02.06.2025 19:11 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Keith Barrington

Latest posts by Keith Barrington @neonatalresearch